After 20 years we’re changing the format of the Boreal Snowshoe Expedition to a combination advanced winter skills course and a weeklong expedition, and finishing with the frozen 24 winter survival challenge. We’ll still be out on the land the entire time, but we will be base camped for the first week working on specific skills appropriate to the frozen north. The change in format is designed to get participants up to speed faster, and to make them more resilient and self-reliant. Unlike a classroom-based course with lots of talk focused on what you “would” do if you were in the field, we’ll be in the field doing it and living it.

• Phase 1: Advanced Winter Survival & Bushcraft
• Phase 2: Unsupported Snowshoe Expedition Guide Training
• Phase 3: Frozen 24 Winter Survival Challenge

Take your skills to the next level this winter. Living out in the winter in the boreal forest is unique experience. It can be harsh; the effect of mistakes is magnified by the bitter cold. But it can also be beautiful and relaxing when you master the necessary skill set.

Why this is an advanced class:
For the duration of the program we’ll be living on snowshoes, staying in hot tents out on the land. There is no modern classroom. We’ll be cutting wood every day to burn in the woods stoves and to cook on. We’ll be chipping a hole in the ice to get our water. We’re authentically living it, not playing at it. Much of what you will learn comes as a result of living it every day. The course is designed so that you receive instruction, then put that instruction into use every day. This is where the muscle memory is developed. This is where the growth happens.

There will very likely be days where the wind is howling and we stay off the ice except to get water. There will likely be a day where we’re tentbound due to rain or a thaw. All of these things are the reality of the woods life in winter in northern Maine. Our goal isn’t to shield you from this. Rather, it’s to embrace it and have a realistic, authentic experience.

Consider joining us.

Note: As a result of the format change, there are no longer any prerequisites for this program. Bear with us as we will be updating the BSE web page over the next few days.

This course is approved by the VA for GI Bill funding and college credit is available through the University of Maine at Presque Isle and Western Colorado State University. For more information on the 2020 Boreal Snowshoe Expedition, visit the BSE web page. The course runs from February 16-28 and the tuition is $2050.